Abstract
This study aims to conduct evaluation of university library websites in Pakistan based on International standards of web usability and web accessibility. This study examines the usability of library websites of top-ten Pakistani universities (as ranked by Higher Education Commission, Pakistan) according to guideline checklist provided by International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9241 –standard for Ergonomics of human-system interaction -- Part 151: Guidance on World Wide Web user interfaces. Besides usability standards, the subject websites are also examined for the level of compliance to International web accessibility standards.
Heuristic evaluation method is used to evaluate web usability where the subject websites are examined through representative users for content design, navigation, search, content presentation, and general design aspects of the user interfaces of library websites. Accessibility evaluation was conducted using web accessibility evaluation tools(WEATs) to check the level of conformance to international web accessibility standards i.e. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0). The study identifies major usability and accessibility barriers of the library websites and offers recommendations on the basis of research findings of the study. Suggestions for improvement of web usability and accessibility have also been framed in order to communicate it to the respective organizations.
This study concludes that 60% library websites were found to have satisfied maximum ISO Usability guidelines while the remaining 40% does not. Whereas, 50% percent library websites contains serious Accessibility issues. However, some major usability components were found missing, which certainly affect the users to use these websites effectively.
Ascertaining the contents of subject websites for accessibility issues, it was observed that multiple issues regarding “priority A” (an ISO standard) level accessibility were found in the studied websites which means that some “special persons” would find it impossible to use these websites. Developers must resolve these issues so as to enable all users to access the website contents easily. Half of the total websites, (50 percent) were in much better condition. However, there were Priority AA (an ISO standard) and AAA (an ISO standard) level issues in almost all studied websites.
Categorically it is found that all studied websites have common usability problems which require serious attention of both the website developers and professional librarians in order to make their website more usable and effective.
Heuristic evaluation method is used to evaluate web usability where the subject websites are examined through representative users for content design, navigation, search, content presentation, and general design aspects of the user interfaces of library websites. Accessibility evaluation was conducted using web accessibility evaluation tools(WEATs) to check the level of conformance to international web accessibility standards i.e. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0). The study identifies major usability and accessibility barriers of the library websites and offers recommendations on the basis of research findings of the study. Suggestions for improvement of web usability and accessibility have also been framed in order to communicate it to the respective organizations.
This study concludes that 60% library websites were found to have satisfied maximum ISO Usability guidelines while the remaining 40% does not. Whereas, 50% percent library websites contains serious Accessibility issues. However, some major usability components were found missing, which certainly affect the users to use these websites effectively.
Ascertaining the contents of subject websites for accessibility issues, it was observed that multiple issues regarding “priority A” (an ISO standard) level accessibility were found in the studied websites which means that some “special persons” would find it impossible to use these websites. Developers must resolve these issues so as to enable all users to access the website contents easily. Half of the total websites, (50 percent) were in much better condition. However, there were Priority AA (an ISO standard) and AAA (an ISO standard) level issues in almost all studied websites.
Categorically it is found that all studied websites have common usability problems which require serious attention of both the website developers and professional librarians in order to make their website more usable and effective.
| Original language | English |
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| Qualification | Master of Social Science |
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| Award date | 22 Jan 2015 |
| Place of Publication | Pakistan |
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| Publication status | Published - Aug 2014 |